Honda Talon submerged under water

[McCarthy]

I’ve seen others stall out in water and start back up just fine.
I guess I assumed the starter wouldn’t have enough strength to bend a rod with a hydro locked cylinder.

Very different situation between stalling and starting it back up within a few seconds, and like OP posted, being out setting up a winch when it dies, then walking back and starting it up. Water goes up the exhaust and hydrolocks the engine after a few seconds.

 

[Quintin4187]

Update:
Drained the fuel tank with siphon hose, filled with fresh gas and it started right up. Was fortunate I never hydro locked the cylinder and no major issues so far. Took for test drive up and down the dirt road, running proper RPMs shift points are good and no issues so far.

Now just need to drain and flush the fluids, I just did my first service about 300 miles ago. Plan on running a cheap oil through it first couple oil changes, then back to Honda OEM oil.

Will be rerouting all vent lines to hopefully keep from happening again. In the process of winching out I managed to bend my front bumper pretty good, any aftermarket bumpers you guys recommend with winch mounts?

 

[Quintin4187]

Assuming your dealer isn't reading this.... 🤣🤣

The picture is uh....photoshopped? 🥴

 

[Quintin4187]

The Talons (and probably most SxSs) are pretty much waterproof, mfrs know they’re gonna get wet. They don’t have any windows and we hose ‘em off with pressure washers, it’s the nature of the beast.

Because of that, I doubt there’s an electrical issue caused by the water. If you didn’t hydro-lock it (sounds like you didn’t, water would have gushed out of the plug holes when you cranked it over), you just have to find what got wet and I’m guessing the fuel.

Don’t tell the dealer you sunk it, if he mentions water marks, tell him that’s from hosing it off and splashes from mud holes.

First oil change, bring it up to two bars then drain. 2nd oil change, let it run for several minutes to steam off any moisture, 3rd oil change, go for a short ride to burn off moisture, 4th oil change and yer good. That’s a very conservative number of changes, removes all doubt about internal water, 3 is probably enough.

Will do man, I’ll keep you guys updated.

 

[Quintin4187]

The key question for me is did the engine stop (while submerged) because electrical harnesses became wet or due to water in the fuel or did it lock down due to water ingestion into a cylinder? I've never experienced a flooded engine but I would expect an owner familiar with his machine would be able to discern between a normal shut down and a sudden lock down.

When you tried to restart the engine did the starter rotate the engine but it failed to start or did the starter simply click and perhaps make a clunking sound because the engine could not rotate?

If the engine locked down while running it's very likely a rod was bent. That's "hydra-lock." Air in a cylinder will compress, water does not.

If the engine did not ingest water and hydra-lock, changing all fluids and filers, draining and refilling the gas tank, and drying all the wiring harnesses may return things to normal. When modern highly accessorized cars are submerged in water insurance companies usually declare them a total loss because the electrical problems and labor charges are never ending. Our buggies are much simpler. If you have pretty good mechanical skills and feel bold you might try removing the engine wiring harness(es) and hang them vertically in the sun to dry for 24 hours.

If your buggy is insured with a good liability, comprehensive, and collision coverage the company might pay for repairs if they believe the submersion was an accident.

Once you get past this experience you might want to consider a boat for the times your beer consumption leads you to pllay in the creek.

Luckily it died due to water in fuel. It was cranking over no problem, in and out of the water 😬.

Also, what are these “bOat” contraptions your speaking off? You mean to tell me they have machines designed specifically for the water??

 

[HBarlow]

That's good news. You survived that adventure.

I had a few of beer influenced adventures myself when I was young and fortunately lived to tell about them. Many I would prefer not to remember.

 

[russknight]

That's good news. You survived that adventure.

I had a few of beer influenced adventures myself when I was young and fortunately lived to tell about them. Many I would prefer not to remember.

Many of mine I wish I could remember....

 

[toddvdh]

Good to hear you got it. I had my Honda rubicon 500 floating upside down in the water many years ago after breaking through the ice. I had it for 15 years after that and never had a problem.

I wouldn’t worry about yours, probably 2-3 oil changes. make sure you get your machine is to a good temperature (at least 2 bars). Between them.

 

[Rayger143]

That's awesome news. Like I said before. Honda!

 

[McCarthy]

Lucky!!!!

 

[LilRedDonkey]

So took the Talon out to the creek today and was driving through the water. Didn't have seat belt on and wasn't a problem, but hit some soft spot in the sand. Due to the seat belt being off the talon hit the rev limiter, (15mph) while spinning out. Nevertheless I got stuck. Water was up to dash and got out with it still running to hook up winch, after few minutes machine shut off, uh oh. Also water never did get up above the intake, it was leaning. Ended up trying to start it back but would not start back up under water. Got it back out onto dry land and still wouldn't start. Luckily I wasn't too far from home and was pulled back to my house.

I let it sit for about 2 hours and tried starting, still won't start. I removed all 4 seats and blew out water around electrical connections. I removed spark plugs and cranked for a while and found that had some moisture on plugs. Checked the oil and oil is milky, uh oh #2. Haven't checked the sub trans or trans oil yet.

So my question is, if I flush the trans, sub trans, front and rear differentials, and oil, take to dealer will my warranty be voided? I'm sure I can get it started as long as the electrical modules aren't fried, but if I can't would my warranty be pointless if there's more damage to the motor?

From what I've read I'm assuming their are vents to fuel tank and some other components. Is their another decent way to direct those to keep this from happening again. I probably would have been fine had the talon not died while sitting in water. It probably set in water for 15 mins while we got it out.

Try to keep the hate to a minimum, I realize that these aren't submarines, but a little beer and these things sure seem like they can go anywhere lol.

I attached some photos...maybe a learning experience for someone else, or a nice chuckle?

View attachment 273298 View attachment 273299

all that ground around, hmm. lol. i guess when your old fun comes easy. use one of these next time!!

 

[CumminsPusher]

Glad to hear it’s back up and going! You dodged a bullet, about 50% of the 1000 platform fails to water it truly hates it. Chalk it up and get everything extended.

 

[HBarlow]

My buggy has never even been on a muddy road but just out of curiosity, for those of you who play hard, how deep in still water can a Pioneer 1000 survive?

Assuming a smooth and level sandy bottom in a creek, for example, what part of the buggy do you use as a maximum depth marker?

 

[Ohio4x4]

If you're still running the factory set up. A fast splash through a puddle can cause issues. Also there are a few vents down pretty low. I told my brother nothing over his ankles until he extended his vents. This was one of my first mods even before my winch. As for a snorkel the gates radiator hose for an under hood snorkel works well if you dont want the obvious snorkel. All said and done it was roughly 50 bucks to know our asses will be wet before anything important to the machine. I have the Joey snorkel now through the hood and have no intention to use it. That said I do like being able to see that intake just for those oh s*** moments.

 

[CumminsPusher]

My buggy has never even been on a muddy road but just out of curiosity, for those of you who play hard, how deep in still water can a Pioneer 1000 survive?

Assuming a smooth and level sandy bottom in a creek, for example, what part of the buggy do you use as a maximum depth marker?

You’ve got updated intake so you’re slightly safer on the splash test, first few models could take in small amounts of water just through puddles then inhale once lower tube is full.
They can go through water as deep as the grill at crawl pace no problem but if there’s any kind wave it can be sucked in. Also low spots under water can dunk the nose in. Seriously it’s a large percentage that can fail once water is in the intake. It’s costly. This can be easily remedied by simple snorkel, good idea even if not planning to go boating.

 

[CumminsPusher]

If you're still running the factory set up. A fast splash through a puddle can cause issues. Also there are a few vents down pretty low. I told my brother nothing over his ankles until he extended his vents. This was one of my first mods even before my winch. As for a snorkel the gates radiator hose for an under hood snorkel works well if you dont want the obvious snorkel. All said and done it was roughly 50 bucks to know our asses will be wet before anything important to the machine. I have the Joey snorkel now through the hood and have no intention to use it. That said I do like being able to see that intake just for those oh s*** moments.

View attachment 273835

This.

 

[HBarlow]

You’ve got updated intake so you’re slightly safer on the splash test, first few models could take in small amounts of water just through puddles then inhale once lower tube is full.
They can go through water as deep as the grill at crawl pace no problem but if there’s any kind wave it can be sucked in. Also low spots under water can dunk the nose in. Seriously it’s a large percentage that can fail once water is in the intake. It’s costly. This can be easily remedied by simple snorkel, good idea even if not planning to go boating.

Thanks. That's helpful info. I'm not going to play in the mud but many younger guys will.

 

[Sheetmetalfab]

Still in the talon forum but feeling lost. 😂

 

[russknight]

Check this out. Obviously snorkled. Go to :48.

 

[Robobrainiac]

If you're still running the factory set up. A fast splash through a puddle can cause issues. Also there are a few vents down pretty low. I told my brother nothing over his ankles until he extended his vents. This was one of my first mods even before my winch. As for a snorkel the gates radiator hose for an under hood snorkel works well if you dont want the obvious snorkel. All said and done it was roughly 50 bucks to know our asses will be wet before anything important to the machine. I have the Joey snorkel now through the hood and have no intention to use it. That said I do like being able to see that intake just for those oh s*** moments.

View attachment 273835

What kind of bumper is that? I like it.